Hereford’s grades pull in different directions. Overall, Hereford earns a C+: better than 41% of UK towns, and #3 of 5 in Herefordshire. Where it falls short is safety (C−) — police record 41.7 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, and 11.1 home and vehicle crimes. Against UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more, it has more crime per resident than 30%. Hazard risk is higher than most: 3.2% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. Getting around on foot or by bus is easy: on the way to work, 28% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. Homes sell for a median £254,950, about 5.2 years of what households in the Herefordshire council area earn.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · flood risk, Environment Agency · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes, ONS.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Hereford is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Hereford.
Work & commuteJobs & income grade C+
Work is close at hand in Hereford: 71% of commuters travel under 5 km, more than in Herefordshire’s towns or England’s towns
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 16% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Of the commuters living in Hereford, 55% work in the town itself. Home was the main workplace for 16% of workers at the census. The car took 69% of commuters, lower than Herefordshire’s towns (75%) and near England’s towns (70%). Average household income comes to £47K a year before tax.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
SchoolsB
School results in Hereford are better than in 59% of towns in England
Secondary results at the town’s 4 secondary schools: an Attainment 8 score of 45.7, with 38% at grade 5 or above in English and maths. Of its 23 schools, three are shown below, each with the reason. Key Stage 2 results at the town’s 13 primary schools: 67% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
Department for Education · GIAS, Key Stage 2 and GCSE resultsSee all 23 schools →
Safety
Per resident, Hereford sees more crime than four in five UK towns
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
The 12 months to August 2026 brought 5,008 recorded crimes inside Hereford’s built-up area, and 788 reports of anti-social behaviour. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 16.3 reports per 1,000, above Herefordshire’s towns (7.1) and England’s towns (7.8) alike. Violence and sexual offences made up 47% of the total. For its size, Hereford records less crime per resident than 70% of the 207 UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more.
41.7violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearC−Safety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 70% of the 207 UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more: less crime than most for its size. Context only, not part of the grade.
More crimeLess crime
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual2,350
Shoplifting698
Damage & arson472
Public order385
Other theft337
Drugs203
Burglary121
Other crime117
Anti-social788
Not gradedAnti-social behaviour, shoplifting and other theft are shown but left out of the Safety Grade, which counts violence and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident.
41.7
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
11.1
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
16.3
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
data.police.uk street-level crime · points inside the ONS built-up-area boundary · OGL · The police category of violence and sexual offences includes harassment and stalking.
Health
Hereford’s life expectancy trails 77% of UK towns
4 GP practices serve the town; 63% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. Disability touches 18% of Hereford’s population. The nearest A&E to Hereford is The County Hospital, 0.5 miles away.
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · A young population flatters these answers, which are not age-adjusted; the Health Grade instead uses measures that allow for age, such as life expectancy and early deaths.
History
Hereford has 365 listed buildings, 4 of them Grade I
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Per 10,000 residents, Hereford counts 60 listed buildings. Its listed buildings include the Cathedral Church of St Mary and St Ethelbert, Grade I. Homes from before 1919 make up 15% of the total, lower than both Herefordshire’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (16%). Grade II* covers 41 of them, Grade I 4.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
HousingCost of living grade B
Hereford is graded a B for cost of living grade
2,413 standard sales inside Hereford’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put the median at £254,950. Private rents average £821 a month across the Herefordshire, County of council area. Social housing holds 19% of households, above Herefordshire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%) alike.
£255Kmedian sale
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Hereford£255K
Typical UK town£277K
By type
Median
Sales
Detached
£365,000
596
Semi-detached
£270,000
793
Terraced
£210,000
749
Flat or maisonette
£135,000
275
59%
of households own their home · England 61%
21%
rent privately · England 21%
£821
average private rent a month, Herefordshire, County of council area
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Who lives here
Degrees are less common in Hereford than in Herefordshire’s towns or across England’s towns: 28% of adults
Line up the people of Hereford by age and the one in the middle is 40.9. Nearly a fifth of residents are 65 or over, between Herefordshire’s towns (24%) and England’s towns (18%). Children are 17% of the town.
40.9median age
HerefordHerefordshireEngland
Ages · share of residents
19%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications20%
Apprenticeship6%
A levels or similar18%
Degree level28%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
WomenEnglandMen
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Ellie Goulding: PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY Official website, CC BY 4.0 · Frank Oz: Jay Dixit, CC BY 4.0 · David Garrick: Angelica Kauffmann, Public domain · Richard Hakluyt: Charles Eamer Kempe., CC BY 3.0 · Connor Wickham: CFCUnofficial (Chelsea Debs), CC BY-SA 2.0 · Edward William Lane: Richard J. Lane, Public domain
Bartestree, Clehonger, Credenhill, Kingstone, Weobley and Ewyas Harold have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Hereford
How many listed buildings are there in Hereford?
That is 2.5 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Cathedral Church of St Mary and St Ethelbert. It also has 8 scheduled monuments.
Does Hereford flood?
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Is Hereford safe?
Against all UK towns, most of them far smaller, it grades C−.
About Hereford
Large town in Herefordshire, England
Hereford is a built-up area of 60,471 people, in the Herefordshire council area. TownRatings uses ONS’s 2022 built-up areas as towns: the physical town, as people mean the word, rather than a council district, so its figures cover the town itself.
Built from ONS geography and Census 2021
Population
60,471 (Census 2021)
Council
Herefordshire
County
Herefordshire
Region
West Midlands
Area
6.8 sq mi (17.7 km²)
ONS code
E63003830
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · HM Land Registry Price Paid (standard sales, September 2023 to August 2026) · ONS Price Index of Private Rents (August 2026, by council) · MHCLG and Welsh Government council tax, Band D 2026–27 (with parish precepts in England) · data.police.uk street-level crime, 36 months to August 2026, points inside the built-up-area boundary · ONS small-area life expectancy and healthy life expectancy, 2019 to 2023 (England and Wales), OHID Fingertips small-area indicators (England) and Census 2021 health, adjusted for age · ONS small-area income estimates (financial year ending 2023) · DWP claimant count via Nomis (January to August 2026) · Historic England, National Heritage List for England (listed buildings, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, battlefields, World Heritage Sites), October 2026, inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary · Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax: stock of properties by build period (31 March 2025) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
